WASHINGTON – The Republican-controlled US House of Representatives will vote on Nov 18 on forcing the release of investigative files on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, with passage seen as all but guaranteed after President Donald Trump dropped his long-standing opposition.

Mr Trump’s reversal late on Nov 16

Until the weekend, Mr Trump and his staff had lobbied hard to prevent any further release of files from the criminal investigation by the US Department of Justice into Epstein, a wealthy New York financier who was, for a time, friends with Mr Trump.

“House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide,” the Republican president wrote late on Nov 16 on social media, calling the matter a “hoax” perpetuated by Democrats.

Democrats, and even some of Mr Trump’s supporters, say there is nothing hoax-like in the release of authentic Justice Department records.

Epstein was convicted on Florida state and federal charges related to his sexual abuse and trafficking of teenaged girls. He died in a federal jail cell in Manhattan in 2019 in what was ruled a suicide, a few weeks after he was arrested on new federal charges of sex trafficking children.

California Representative Robert Garcia, the senior Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said Mr Trump failed in his effort to quash the House’s Epstein investigation and changed course because “he’s panicking and has realised he is about to lose this Epstein vote”.

Mr Trump’s change of heart came about because he had grown exasperated with Republicans’ fixation on the Epstein files and wanted them to focus on ...